Basketball Game Preview: Granada Matadors vs. Cardinal Newman Cardinals

The Granada Matadors will take on the Cardinal Newman Cardinals in a holiday battle at at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

On Tuesday, Granada didn't have quite enough to beat Rodriguez and fell 59-57. While losing is never fun, the Matadors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 525th, while the Mustangs are ranked 163rd).

Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman waltzed into their match on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They were the clear victor by a 58-33 margin over the Gauchos. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 25 points or more this season.

Cardinal Newman has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.8 points per game. As for Granada, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-7.

Granada came up short against Cardinal Newman in their previous matchup back in December of 2017, falling 62-51. Can Granada avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.